Eric AldieriBristol Central High School

Photo Courtesy of Eric Aldieri

There's little Eric Aldieri doesn't excel at. At Bristol Central High School, the valedictorian played soccer, indoor track and outdoor track. He was a member of the Latin Club and Physics Olympiad, and served as vice president of the National Honors Society. And he still had time to babysit the principal's kids. Now, Aldieri's headed to Villanova University on a presidential scholarship to study astrophysics, after enjoying his advanced placement physics and calculus classes in high school. "I mean I like everything, from English to politics to science and math, but I like math and science particularly, because there are so many applications," he said. Aldieri further explored physics in the Olympiad, in which he competed in five physics-related events at Yale University against schools from Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. One event included building a pendulum under a time constraint, he said. While Aldieri may be an incoming freshman, he's no stranger to college life. He currently writes for The Prospect, a new college admissions blog, which covers everything from standardized tests to financial aid to alcohol on campus. He aims to help students and families who have questions about the admission process. "There's really no better advice to be given than from someone who's gone through the process themselves," he said. --Marwa Eltagouri

There's little Eric Aldieri doesn't excel at. At Bristol Central High School, the valedictorian played soccer, indoor track and outdoor track. He was a member of the Latin Club and Physics Olympiad, and served as vice president of the National Honors Society. And he still had time to babysit the principal's kids. Now, Aldieri's headed to Villanova University on a presidential scholarship to study astrophysics, after enjoying his advanced placement physics and calculus classes in high school. "I mean I like everything, from English to politics to science and math, but I like math and science particularly, because there are so many applications," he said. Aldieri further explored physics in the Olympiad, in which he competed in five physics-related events at Yale University against schools from Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. One event included building a pendulum under a time constraint, he said. While Aldieri may be an incoming freshman, he's no stranger to college life. He currently writes for The Prospect, a new college admissions blog, which covers everything from standardized tests to financial aid to alcohol on campus. He aims to help students and families who have questions about the admission process. "There's really no better advice to be given than from someone who's gone through the process themselves," he said. --Marwa Eltagouri (Photo Courtesy of Eric Aldieri)

There's little Eric Aldieri doesn't excel at. At Bristol Central High School, the valedictorian played soccer, indoor track and outdoor track. He was a member of the Latin Club and Physics Olympiad, and served as vice president of the National Honors Society. And he still had time to babysit the principal's kids. Now, Aldieri's headed to Villanova University on a presidential scholarship to study astrophysics, after enjoying his advanced placement physics and calculus classes in high school. "I mean I like everything, from English to politics to science and math, but I like math and science particularly, because there are so many applications," he said. Aldieri further explored physics in the Olympiad, in which he competed in five physics-related events at Yale University against schools from Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. One event included building a pendulum under a time constraint, he said. While Aldieri may be an incoming freshman, he's no stranger to college life. He currently writes for The Prospect, a new college admissions blog, which covers everything from standardized tests to financial aid to alcohol on campus. He aims to help students and families who have questions about the admission process. "There's really no better advice to be given than from someone who's gone through the process themselves," he said. --Marwa Eltagouri